Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 26 | Page 15

Government allows Huawei limited role in UK 5G networks Almost half of respondents to poll ‘wouldn’t know’ if their organisation had suffered a cyber breach T he UK government has announced that it will allow Chinese telecom firm, Huawei, a limited role in UK 5G networks in its aim to speed up network deployment. Despite pressure from the US acting against the decision, Huawei will operate in a restrictive manner and will be declined access to certain areas. Victor Zhang, Vice President at Huawei, has issued the following statement: “Huawei is reassured by the UK Government’s confirmation that we can continue working with our customers to keep the 5G rollout on track. This evidence-based decision will result in a more advanced, more secure and more cost-effective telecoms infrastructure that is fit for the future. It gives the UK access to world-leading technology and ensures a competitive market. “We have supplied cutting-edge technology to telecoms operators in the UK for more than 15 years. We will build on this strong track record, supporting our customers as they invest in their 5G networks, boosting economic growth and helping the UK continue to compete globally. We agree a diverse vendor market and fair competition are essential for network reliability and innovation, as well as ensuring consumers have access to the best possible technology.” A10 Networks’ VP of Strategy, Gunter Reiss, said: “The global dispute over whether tech giant, Huawei, should be used in national 5G networks has created a lot of geopolitical conversations around the 5G build-out, security to critical national infrastructure, and generally whether certain vendors should be included or excluded. “However, operators need to base their decisions not on these opinions, but on technology – the strength, innovation and security capabilities. With the massive increases in bandwidth, number of devices predicted to be on these networks and the growing security requirements, the technology being used must meet these needs.” www.intelligentcio.com A lmost half of respondents to the latest Twitter poll run by Infosecurity Europe, Europe’s number one information security event, admit they would be completely unaware if a cyber breach occurred in their organisation. The poll was designed to explore incident response, an area that has come under recent scrutiny following Travelex’s response to its New Year’s Eve cyberattack, which left many of its systems down and impacted travel currency sales. Research Director at Ovum, this reflects a widespread issue. “Discovering a breach well after the event is usual. Uncovering breaches is not easy, but proactive threat hunting is an approach being increasingly used by organisations. Regularly scanning environments to look for anomalies and unexpected activity is useful, but it can be difficult to deal with the number of resulting alerts. Ultimately, effective cyberhygiene involves having layers of security to prevent, detect and respond to incidents and breaches.” In answer to the question: ‘If a cyber breach occurred, how quickly could you discover it?’, 31.5% of respondents said they would discover it immediately, 14.3% within 30 days and 6.6% within 200 days. However, a shocking 47.6% conceded they simply would not know. According to Maxine Holt, Good incident response demands good risk insight. The poll examined this by asking, ‘What understanding do you have of your information assets?’. A worrying 44.7% revealed they had ‘very little’ understanding, with 30.7% stating they had ‘some’ – and only 24.7% said their grasp was ‘comprehensive’. INTELLIGENTCIO 15